Anti-skid devices of rigid unitary construction are well known and they are designed to be placed on the ground adjacent and under the stuck vehicle drive wheel to provide a tractive surface for the wheel. Such devices are normally carried in the vehicle trunk of the motor vehicle when not in use to be readily available whenever the vehicle is stuck. They require relatively large storage space. Moreover, they can damage other objects or persons, since they have exposed pointed teeth and are liable to be thrown out by the rotating wheel.
Canadian Pat. No. 1,135,297 dated Nov. 9, 1982, in the name of Richard Mantion and Jean-Paul Normandeau, and entitled: FOLDABLE TRACTION MAT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES, proposes an anti-skid device which can be folded when not in use to take a minimum storage space. This device consists of a plurality of twisted bars pivoted to one another in a lazy tongue arrangement. This device is expensive to manufacture and has insufficient traction, especially on ice, since it tends to fold up under the wheel. The device also often breaks under the weight of the vehicle when bridging a ground depression.